A
Anonymous
Guest
Is this the grave of Robin Hood?
I recently saw a show on the Discovery channel which surprised me (as I hail originally from roughly the area where Rob and his mates did their thing) proudly showing off the graves not only of Robin Hood, but also that of Will Scarlet and Little John. I was previously under the impression that there was little or no tangible evidence of their existence, let alone remains, though it does seem that the grave of Robin Hood is a Little-Known Fact. But I'm not convinced, mainly as these graves seem to have been identified and created in the 19th century, and no website offers the basis for how these conclusions were arrived at. Here are the links I dug up (if you'll pardon the pun)
Robin Hood's tombstone
Wider view of Robin Hood's grave
The details of Robin's demise are pretty interesting, as he was led whilst ill to Kirklees priory. There, the head of the priory who was in the pocket of the Sheriff of Nottingham, bled him to death before the legendary "bury me where the arrow falls" stuff. Apparently he was too weak to draw the bow so one of his mates did it for him, and hence the above grave was dug.
Details of Robin's last moments here
This unmarked grave is supposedly that of Will Scarlet. Again, no sources provided.
And here lies Little John in a very fresh looking plot.
There are some interesting accounts of relics associated with Little John.
"The grave was exhumed in 1784 by Captain William Shuttleworth. Inside were two pieces of thigh bone, found to be such a length that the owner of them would have been ten feet tall. But in 1815, the bones were found to be two bones, saw-cut to fit together. "
"In 1784 the local church vicar, Charles Spencer Stanhope (d. 1874) wrote that the squires brother, William Shuttleworth hung a thigh bone, reputedly from Little John's grave in his room.. However as it was thought to be bringing poor fortune to its owner, it was ordered to be reburied by his clerk. But the clerk kept the labelled bone in his window as a curio.
When the father of Charles Spencer-Stanhope (Walter Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall and Horsforth Hall 1749-1821) and Sir George Strickland were visiting Hathersage, Strickland* is reported to have "run away with it" and it has never been recovered. "
"The reputed bow of Little John hung on the walls of Hathersage church until 1729. From here it was taken by the Spencer-Stanhope family to Cannon Hall in Cawthorne where it remained until the early 1950's. The Spencer-Stanhope family gave it to the Wakefield museum but it has now gone to the residence of Simon Fraser, a family member, who resides in Scotland. The bow could now be scientifically dated if a portion were to be sacrificed."
Finally here's a rather bizarre "photo" which surely must only be intended as an illustration of the comparitive size of LJ's bones to that of an average sized man. The site it resides on doesn't elaborate.
So can anyone comment on the reliability of these claims?
I recently saw a show on the Discovery channel which surprised me (as I hail originally from roughly the area where Rob and his mates did their thing) proudly showing off the graves not only of Robin Hood, but also that of Will Scarlet and Little John. I was previously under the impression that there was little or no tangible evidence of their existence, let alone remains, though it does seem that the grave of Robin Hood is a Little-Known Fact. But I'm not convinced, mainly as these graves seem to have been identified and created in the 19th century, and no website offers the basis for how these conclusions were arrived at. Here are the links I dug up (if you'll pardon the pun)
Robin Hood's tombstone
Wider view of Robin Hood's grave
The details of Robin's demise are pretty interesting, as he was led whilst ill to Kirklees priory. There, the head of the priory who was in the pocket of the Sheriff of Nottingham, bled him to death before the legendary "bury me where the arrow falls" stuff. Apparently he was too weak to draw the bow so one of his mates did it for him, and hence the above grave was dug.
Details of Robin's last moments here
This unmarked grave is supposedly that of Will Scarlet. Again, no sources provided.
And here lies Little John in a very fresh looking plot.
There are some interesting accounts of relics associated with Little John.
"The grave was exhumed in 1784 by Captain William Shuttleworth. Inside were two pieces of thigh bone, found to be such a length that the owner of them would have been ten feet tall. But in 1815, the bones were found to be two bones, saw-cut to fit together. "
"In 1784 the local church vicar, Charles Spencer Stanhope (d. 1874) wrote that the squires brother, William Shuttleworth hung a thigh bone, reputedly from Little John's grave in his room.. However as it was thought to be bringing poor fortune to its owner, it was ordered to be reburied by his clerk. But the clerk kept the labelled bone in his window as a curio.
When the father of Charles Spencer-Stanhope (Walter Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall and Horsforth Hall 1749-1821) and Sir George Strickland were visiting Hathersage, Strickland* is reported to have "run away with it" and it has never been recovered. "
"The reputed bow of Little John hung on the walls of Hathersage church until 1729. From here it was taken by the Spencer-Stanhope family to Cannon Hall in Cawthorne where it remained until the early 1950's. The Spencer-Stanhope family gave it to the Wakefield museum but it has now gone to the residence of Simon Fraser, a family member, who resides in Scotland. The bow could now be scientifically dated if a portion were to be sacrificed."
Finally here's a rather bizarre "photo" which surely must only be intended as an illustration of the comparitive size of LJ's bones to that of an average sized man. The site it resides on doesn't elaborate.
So can anyone comment on the reliability of these claims?